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BPCA at the Manchester Cleaning Show and FoodEx

There’s a very important line in our updated strategy all about educating the whole supply chain about the value of a BPCA member. Short of going door-to-door with a handful of flyers, how do you spread the “Be Protected. Professionally.” message to associated sectors? One of the ways we do it is by visiting the heart of those associated sectors – their trade shows.

They’re both huge events, held by passionate sectors in their own right. BPCA’s staff team and member company volunteers manned the stands at both events. We were all tasked with spreading the word about the value of BPCA members, and the pest management industry as a whole.

Foodex is part of a five-show collective that includes The Ingredients Show, Food & Drink Expo, NCS Pro Retail, and the Farm Shop Deli Show. Combined they attract 30,000 attendees and 1,500 exhibitors. People involved in food and drink processing, packaging and logistics industries all attend Foodex.

Ben Massey, BPCA Marketing and Communications Manager, attended the event. He said, “As a rough guess, I’d say maybe 70% of the people attending would require the services of a professional pest controller (manufacturing, retail, convenience stores), so we had the potential to make a real impact. We’d have liked a bit more footfall to our stand, but the conversations we did have were very worthwhile. Another well-organised show from William Reed.”

2,411 attendees descended on Manchester to view the latest cleaning products and services exhibitors had to offer. Ian Andrew, BPCA Chief Executive was out and about, talking to this allied sector about what BPCA can do for them.

He said, “The show had some quieter moments, but overall we had a steady stream of people wanting to learn a bit about pest management. Lots of cleaners were curious about potentially setting up a relationship with a ‘preferred pest control company’. Cleaning companies can be a valuable friend to a BPCA member.”

Why is going to these events so important?

Events like these help us to spread the message further about professionalism within the pest control industry, get the BPCA logo out under people’s noses, and get BPCA membership writteninto tenders.

Many people see our stand at events, and it causes them to think twice about their contractor. Is what we already have working for us? Are they BPCA members? Did I check their qualifications or insurance? This is all then fed back to the contractor, helping the image of our industry. We try to spread our coverage out and attend events across different sectors and locations.

This year we’ve scheduled agriculture, food, hospitality, facilities management, environmental, and cleaning events around the UK.

WHERE NEXT?

If you have any events that you would like to see us at for 2019, then suggest them! After all, we’re there for you! events@bpca.org.uk